Bedtime Stories
by The Cheez
Summary: Daddy told the best bedtime stories. Mommy's stories were good, but Daddy's were always the best. *SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS ENDGAME* Cross-Posted on AO3


Daddy told the best bedtime stories. Mommy's stories were good, but Daddy's were always the best. He told stories about superheroes working together to save the day. He told stories about evil villains that tried to turn the heroes against each other, make them fight one another instead of stopping the evil plot, and how they were foiled anyway because nothing could get in the way of their awesome teamwork. He told stories of days when it looked like everything was lost until the heroes swooped in and saved everyone.  
She loved hearing about the heroes. There was the really brave soldier who fought in wars nearly a hundred years before and sacrificed himself to save everyone but came back because the world still needed him. There was the man from beyond the stars that could control lightning and fly, who was a bit silly and kind of like a puppy, but really just wanted to protect everyone. There was the super-smart scientist who accidentally turned himself into a monster, but used his powers and science to save the day. He was Daddy's favourite hero, Morgan was sure because he'd always get this big grin on his face when he mentioned Big Green. There was one girl on the team, and she was a super-spy. She was a really good fighter and had been taking down bad guys for years before the heroes became a team. She was also super scary - even scarier than Mommy, Daddy would insist - so it didn't matter that she didn't have superpowers like the others did. The last guy on the team didn't have superpowers either, but he was super good at using a bow and arrow. He was just like Robin Hood, Daddy said, using his bow to save everyone from the bad guys. He never missed.  
Sometimes he'd talk about another hero, a man in armour that would fly around and shoot the bad guys from the sky, but Daddy didn't mention him much.  
Despite all these great hero stories, Morgan's absolute favourite stories were about Spider-Man. He had all the best adventures! He went out and saved the people of New York from danger. He didn't get to save the world like the other heroes, but his job was still super important. Most of the time, he saved cats from trees and helped little old ladies across the road, but he also got to help the police catch criminals and stop people from getting hurt. Morgan loved these stories because Daddy liked to tell all the in-between bits too. How Spider-Man was really a kid, just like Morgan (but a bit older). How his name was Peter, and how he went to school and did normal kid stuff when he wasn't out being a hero. How he loved Star Wars and science puns. How he had a best friend named Ned, who was his Guy In The Chair, and an AI named Karen that kept him out of trouble. How he started off with web shooters he made from recycled parts he found in dumpsters, web fluid he made in the Chemistry lab at his school, and in a suit he'd made all by himself. How he'd been a hero for months before anyone found out.  
Daddy liked to say that he was the strongest and bravest of all the heroes - not because of his powers, but because of his heart. He loved the city of New York so much, that he chose to give up the spot he earned on the big team, just so he could be the "Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man".  
One night before Daddy went away, when Daddy was up really late working and Morgan couldn't sleep, he showed her a picture of him and a boy who was pulling a silly face. He told Morgan a very special secret and asked her to pinky swear that she wouldn't tell anyone (except for Mommy because she already knows everything). Daddy said that the boy in the picture was Peter Parker, and he was the real Spider-Man. That Peter was her big brother and that, one day, he was going to bring him home to meet Morgan. But until then, she couldn't tell anyone about him. Keeping the secret wasn't too hard, because no-one came to visit and Mommy already knew, but she kept it anyway. Then when Daddy went away, Morgan knew he was going to get her big brother and bring him back to meet her.  
But Daddy never came back.  
Mommy tried to tell the stories. So did Uncle Happy and Uncle Rhodey. But they were never as good. They weren't Daddy's stories.  
On the day of the funeral, lots of people came to the house. Everyone was really sad, and they said that they were very sorry that her Daddy was gone. Mommy cried a lot. So did Uncle Rhodey. Uncle Happy even cried when he thought no one was looking. She got to meet all of the heroes from her stories. The brave soldier's name was Steve Rogers, who was also called Captain America, and he was really strong and had lots of muscles. The man from beyond the stars was Thor, and he had a big axe called Stormbreaker that he used to make lightning. He was really fat though, which Morgan thought was kinda weird, but he was really funny and seemed really nice. The super-smart scientist was Bruce Banner, and he was big and green and just as cool as Daddy said he was. Robin Hood said his name was Clint Barton and he promised to come and teach her how to shoot arrows once she was a little bit bigger. The spy lady didn't come, but Morgan figured that was because she had super important secret spy stuff to do. That was okay though. Someone had to keep the world safe when all the other heroes were away.  
Eventually, everyone went home, and the house was quiet again. It felt funny knowing that all these people had come for Daddy's funeral, but Morgan had never seen almost any of them before. Was Daddy really important? How come all these people knew him and Mommy, but not her? She had gone up to her room to play with her toys and was sitting on her bed when someone knocked on her bedroom door. The door creaked open, and there was Mommy, Uncle Rhodey and a boy who kept staring at his feet. Morgan thought he looked familiar, but she hadn't seen him at the funeral though. Had he been hiding?  
"Morgan, honey. We have someone here to meet you," Mommy said.  
Uncle Rhodey pushed the boy into the room, and he stumbled a little over his feet. He looked up and met Morgan's eyes. He looked really sad.  
"Morgan, this is Peter Parker. Peter, this is Morgan."  
Peter tried to smile and stuck his hand out to shake. Morgan just cocked her head and squinted at him.  
"Are you Spider-Man?"  
His eyes widened so much that Morgan was sure they would fall out of his head.  
"How did you know that?" He squawked.  
Morgan grinned. "Daddy told me all about you. He said that you were my big brother and he was going to bring you home to meet me someday."  
Peter gaped at her. Mommy started laughing really hard, and Uncle Rhodey snorted.  
"We told you, kiddo," Uncle Rhodey said, clapping a hand on Peter's shoulder. "You're part of the family. Even Morgan knows that."  
Peter went bright red in the face and smiled. "I guess so."  
"So are you? Are you really Spider-Man?"  
"Yeah, I am."  
Morgan began bouncing up and down on the bed. "Can you show me your webs? Have you got your costume here? Did you really make your tech from stuff you found in the trash? Can I talk to Karen? Is Ned still your Guy In The Chair? Is..."  
"Slow down, jitterbug. I can only answer one question at a time. How do you know about all this stuff?"  
"I told you! Daddy told me all about you. He tells the best bedtime stories."  
"Does he? What kind of stories did he tell you?"  
"He told me all about the time you climbed the Washington Monument so you could save your friends in the elevator. Did the police really try to make you get down?"  
Peter grinned. "Yeah, they did. Did he tell you what I did?"  
"Daddy said that you broke the window at the very top so you could climb in and catch them."  
"Did he tell you that I jumped over a helicopter to do it?"  
Morgan's eyes grew wide. "No..."  
"I couldn't break the window by myself, so I jumped over the helicopter and shot my webs so I could swing under it, and it sent me flying straight through the glass."  
"Wow! Were you scared?"  
"Really scared. But I knew I had to do it or else my friends would have fallen."  
"That's so cool! Can you tell me another story?"  
"Sure thing, jitterbug."  
Daddy told the best bedtime stories. Mommy's stories are good, but Daddy's were always the best. Morgan misses him a lot, but it's okay. When she feels sad, she likes to think about all the stories he told her. About the heroes known as the Avengers. About the brave soldier, Captain America. The god from beyond the stars, Thor. The super-smart scientist, Bruce Banner. The super-spy lady, Natasha Romanov. The archer, Clint Barton, who really was just like Robin Hood. And Spider-Man, of course.  
But now her favourite stories are the ones that her big brother Peter tells. Because when he's not telling stories about Spider-Man, he tells her about Iron Man. Iron Man was a hero that flew around in a suit of armour, shooting bad guys from the sky. He was super-smart and really good at building stuff. He made the armour himself, as well as another suit of armour for Uncle Rhodey. He also built Spider-Man's normal suit, and the Iron Spider suit. He built several AI's, including Karen, and he was really famous for making lots of inventions that people use today. Iron Man saved Peter from the bad guys when he was Morgan's age, and that was why he became Spider-Man. So he could protect people just like his hero.  
Iron Man is the best of all the superheroes because Iron Man was her Daddy. And while Daddy was gone, Morgan knew that her Daddy saved the world, and that made him the best Daddy ever. And one day, she could build things and become a hero too. One day, she could be Iron Man.


End file.
